The Brazilian capitalist state: Analysis of social rights in times of neoliberal orthodoxy

• Main Author: Patrícia Soraya Mustafa
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina 2019-04-01
• Series: Revista Katálysis
• Subjects: Estado capitalista; Neoliberalismo; Uma Ponte para o Futuro; Ajuste fiscal; Direitos sociais
• Online Access: https://periodicos.ufsc.br/index.php/katalysis/article/view/57117

This article is based on theoretical and documentary research and aims to analyze the document Uma Ponte para o Futuro [A bridge to the future], as well as the measures carried out by the (illegitimate) Brazilian government headed by the Brazilian Democratic Movement (MDB) in the period 2016-2018. Among the measures analyzed are the labor counterreform, the Constitutional Amendments (EC) 93 and 95, and the bill proposing a social security counterreform. The article emphasizes the impact of such measures on the working class. The study is based on the understanding of the capitalist state as ontologically subordinated to the interests of capital, which is expressed in the characteristics of the policies adopted and proposed by the MDB’s government in Brazil. When analyzing the scope of the economic and social policy of the period, the article makes clear who is penalized with the measures put forward by the government.